Cold
by VectorSigma101
Summary: A contest entry for firestar4ever's "Warrior Cats Writer's Games!" on Wattpad: Stonekit knows that his mother will never leave him, but what happens during one cold, eventful leaf-bare night?


**Here's another contest entry for firestar4ever from WattPad! It's for the third round and the prompt was to use this sentence in some way in the story and had to be over 1,000 words:_ The cold envelopes me, to the point where I can't even feel my own presence. _**

**Warriors/Characters (c) Erin Hunter**

**Story (c) Me and with permission from firestar4ever**

* * *

Stonekit had never been so cold in his entire life. Well, then again, he's _almost_ one moon old now, but Stonekit was almost positive that he would never feel such cold every again, and he planned to live for many, many moons. He tried to take his mind off the frigid weather by thinking about his future; his mother had always told them to plan for big things in life. Stonekit planned to become Clan leader one day, with Mistykit as his deputy. He wasn't sure about Mosskit; perhaps she would become his medicine cat? Yeah…they would rule ThunderClan forever and make it the best Clan in the forest! He would become Stonestar, the greatest leader that ThunderClan has ever seen!

"It's cold," he heard Mistykit whimper. Stonekit glanced from behind his shoulder; he could barely see his sister's blue-gray pelt against the snow let alone Mosskit's gray and white fur.

An idea struck the young kit's mind. "Hey, Mistykit, check out my hunter's crouch!" he meowed, gaining his sister's attention. He leapt into the air and landed on his paws a mouse-length away, squatting down to perform the hunter's crouch, just like Redpaw has taught him. He remembered to keep his tail straight out and his haunches low enough not to scrap the snowy ground. He recalled how Runningkit had tried to do it as well, but the brown tabby kit was never good at it.

He heard his mother, Bluefur, purr from behind, "That's wonderful, darling." Stonekit puffed out his chest in pride. His mother's praise meant a lot, but it was even better when their father, Thrushpelt, congratulated him. When their father wasn't busy trying to find prey in the snow-covered forest, he would play with Stonekit and his littermates, often teaching them how to hunt moss-balls outside the nursery. However, Stonekit was confused on why their father wasn't playing Secret Escape with them right now. Their mother had waken them up in the middle of the night and told them that they were playing a game called Secret Escape. Bluefur said that they had to be really quiet as they tried to escape the camp from dangerous ShadowClan warriors and get to Sunningrocks. They even went through the dirtplace tunnel to escape the camp! It was their first exciting adventure!

Stonekit was snapped out of his thoughts by their mother urging them onward again. Stonekit tipped his head in confusion; why was his mother in such a rush to get to Sunningrocks? It's only a game…right? Stonekit wasn't allowed to explore the territory until he was an apprentice, so he didn't know exactly where they were. They were still in ThunderClan territory, however, because he felt comfortable in the scents of his older Clanmates.

"Gah!" he yelped as he accidentally fell into a large, hidden snow drift. As his mother quickly fished him out, Stonekit heard Mosskit complaining about wanting to go home. His sister looked exhausted and Mistykit was shivering so much that the snowflakes falling down bounced off her vibrating pelt.

"We have to keep moving," Bluefur insisted. Stonekit tried to shake his pelt free of the snow clumps, but he was unsuccessful in doing so.

"But I don't wanna play this game anymore!" Mistykit whined.

By now, Stonekit was starting to agree with her. He could no longer hide his chattering teeth. He padded to sit down next to her, hoping that they could provide each other warmth. Normally Stonekit would object and say something positive, but it was hard to be optimistic when you couldn't feel your own paws.

"Just a bit farther," Bluefur offered.

"I can't feel my paws," Stonekit whimpered. He could no longer stay silent; it was just too frigid and the wind was biting into his skin. "How can I walk if I don't know where my paws are?"

He heard an owl hoot and felt his mother draw them close. "I have an idea," she then meowed. She dug a small hole with her paws and ushered her kits inside. "In you go. I'll be back for you in a moment." Their mother disappeared from their sight.

"Bluefur!" Mistykit wailed as she snuggled up closer to Stonekit. By now, Stonekit was shivering as well, but Mosskit didn't say anything. Perhaps she found a way to ignore the cold? "She'll come back, won't she?"

"Of course she will!" Stonekit insisted. "She's our mother and she would never, ever leave us."

Mistykit didn't look so positive, but kept her gaze on the opening.

Bluefur's face reappeared in the hole a few heartbeats later.

"Where did you go?" Mistykit cried.

"We thought you weren't coming back!" Mosskit added.

"Oh, my precious kits," their mother soothed, though Stonekit could tell that something was wrong by the way her blue eyes seemed to flare in pain, "I'll always come back."

"I told you," Stonekit joked to Mistykit as Bluefur carried him away by his scruff. She carried her eldest kit to a nearby hole and plopped him inside.

"Wait here," Bluefur ordered before she left. She reappeared a few heartbeats later with Mistykit and then Mosskit. Bluefur repeated the process for what seemed to Stonekit forever, until she finally stopped at the last hole at the edge of the forest.

"Can we go home now?" he asked. By now, the cold had seeped into Stonekit's thin pelt and chilled him to the bone. The cold had enveloped him, to the point where he couldn't feel his own presence. He longed for the warmth of the nursery back home and he wished he were there.

"There's someone we need to meet first," Bluefur replied, sounding very cheerful.

Stonekit didn't care that his assumptions were right. Frost had formed on his kitten-soft pelt and all he wanted right now was warmth.

"Who?" Mistykit mumbled, her voice barely audible against the wind that rattled the leaf-bare branches above.

Their mother paused for a heartbeat before curling around her kits in the makeshift snow dip. "Let's all rest here for a bit," she meowed.

"Can we go home yet?" Mosskit whispered.

"You can sleep for a while here."

Stonekit was more than happy to oblige. He let out a long yawn before snuggling against his mother's cold flank. He wasn't completely warm, but it was better than freezing in the wind. "It's been a good adventure. Did we win?"

As he closed his eyes, Stonekit felt his mother pressed her muzzle against the top of his head. "Oh, yes, little one. You won."

Stonekit stifled a tiny purr; he felt better now that he knew that they won the game. Those pesky ShadowClan warriors didn't stand a chance against his stalking skills! He welcomed the sleep that followed soon after. He dreamed about chasing mice in the green-leaf forest like his mother suggested. He crouched down, using the hunter's crouch that Redpaw had taught him, and crept forward. Before he could reach the mouse, however, he heard a loud, mumbled voice calling out. Stonekit chose to ignore it and stalked forward once more. He was almost on top of the mouse when a stinky stench filled his dream.

"Yuck!" Stonekit gagged as he woke up from his lovely dream. The horrid smell was in the snow dip as well. "What's that smell?"

"Nothing, little one. Don't be rude," Bluefur chastised. She turned towards a brown tom, who Stonekit had just noticed join them in the hole. "Go back to the rocks. I'll bring them to you."

"But I could carry one," the tom objected, but Stonekit's mother wouldn't hear any of it.

"I haven't told them who you are yet. Go back!" she spat.

As the brown smelly tom left, Stonekit wanted to ask who that was, but Bluefur woke Mistykit up before he could question his mother. "We have to get moving."

His sister moaned and started to shiver again. "But I was just getting warm."

"You'll be even warmer soon," their mother promised.

"Where are we going?" Stonekit asked. He was starting to get tired of these secrets.

"I'm taking you to meet your father."

Stonekit blinked. That couldn't be right. Their father was Thrushpelt and he's back home! "Do you mean Thrushpelt? Runningkit told me that's who White-eye said was our father."

Bluefur shook her head. "Your real father. Oakheart. From RiverClan."

"From RiverClan?!" Stonekit shrieked. There was no way that a RiverClan tom was his father!

"Hurry up," Bluefur commanded as she left the snow dip. She shook her pelt free of the snow that she could get rid of and picked up Stonekit and Mistykit out of the den.

"What about Mosskit?" Mistykit asked. Stonekit hadn't realized that his youngest sister was laying still in the hole, not reacting to their conversation. Was she in a deep sleep?

Bluefur's eyes once again filled with pain. "I'll come back for her," she insisted as she began to pad away.

Stonekit glanced back at the dip, hoping to see Mosskit leaping out to follow them. But she didn't. Maybe it was a really, really deep sleep! He hoped that Mosskit would wake up soon, for the hole was starting to fill up with snow. Stonekit hurried to match his mother's quick pace and sought shelter from the wind underneath Bluefur's belly with Mistykit. "But you said we were ThunderClan. How can we be RiverClan as well?"

His mother didn't reply, but instead kept her gaze glued forward. It didn't make sense to Stonekit; their father was Oakheart, a RiverClan tom? Does that mean Stonekit's half ThunderClan and half RiverClan? How could you be half of something?

"Ouch!" Stonekit yelped as he tripped and ran his nose into something hard. "This ground is hard!" He rubbed his paw with his nose. He heard the crunching of pawsteps and the brown tom from before arrived.

"Are they okay?" he asked. This must be Oakheart, their father, but Stonekit was still too overwhelmed to ask to make sure. Stonekit stared at the muscular reddish-brown tom and studied his broad shoulders and thick tail. This cat was clearly very powerful and strong, but Stonekit still didn't approve of the odd smell coming from his mouth.

He felt his mother touch him with her nose. "This is Stonekit and this is Mistykit. Please take care of them."

"Where's the other one?" Oakheart asked.

"Dead." Her voice seemed farther away than before. Stonekit mused over that word: dead. What does that word mean? Mosskit was dead…was that what they called that deep sleep she was in? Could she still play with them?

"Bluefur, come back!" Mistykit wailed. Stonekit whirled around and saw that his mother was slowly backing away backwards, not removing her gaze from her kits.

"Where are you going?" Stonekit called. What about Mosskit? Was she just going to bring Mosskit to join them?

"Are you coming back to get us?"

Bluefur looked away and suddenly turned around and bolted towards the forest, disappearing into the snow.

"Come back!" Mistykit cried. She turned towards Oakheart, who just stood there with his eyes glazed. "She'll come back, won't she?"

Oakheart struggled to focus his clear amber eyes on them. "No…I'm sorry, but she won't ever be coming back."

"What do you mean? She's just going to get Mosskit, right?" Stonekit asked.

Oakheart shook his head. "Mosskit is dead, Stonekit. She's gone to StarClan now, but she will watch over you forever." He ushered them with his tail towards the river. "Come. My Clanmates will want to meet you."

"But she promised that she would never leave us!" Stonekit insisted and glanced behind him. "Bluefur! Bluefur come back! Please come back…" He longed for her sweet and gentle voice whispering in his ear, her comforting scent to lull him to sleep, and her constant love radiating from her at all times. He wanted his mother. "I thought she loved us…"

"She does, Stonekit," Oakheart replied. His voice turned into a mutter. "But she loves her Clan even more."

Stonekit still looked frantically at the woods, hoping to see his mother emerge from the snow. But he didn't. His mother had left him and Stonekit would never forget that.

**Reference:** _Bluestar's Prophecy_, "Chapter 41"


End file.
